WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A nine-time convicted felon who shot and killed his cousin in April 2023, stuffed his body in a large storage container, walked up to Robinson and set his body on fire was sentenced to life in prison Thursday.

Jurors in Waco’s 19th State District Court deliberated for about 40 minutes before considering prosecutors’ request that Derek Joseph Daigneault be put behind bars for the rest of his life.

The jury deliberated for about 35 minutes before convicting the 29-year-old career criminal in the death of his cousin Mandy Rose Reynolds, 26, whose body was set on fire in a plastic warehouse near a subdivision on Heston Circle. Just east of Interstate 35. Reynolds’ body was burned beyond recognition, and police identified him after capturing Reynolds’ dog, a white Labradoodle named Titan, who was left at the scene and refused to leave where Reynolds’ body was found.

The dog was microchipped, which allowed investigators to identify Reynolds as its owner.

After Visiting Judge Roy Sparkman sentenced Daigneault to life in prison, Reynolds’ mother, stepfather and older brother gave victim impact statements about how they were devastated by Reynolds’ violent death.

While Reynolds’ brother was speaking, Daigneault shouted across the courtroom, accusing his brother of a crime.

Sparkman warned Daigneault not to speak, but Daigneault continued to address his cousin, who spoke on the witness stand.

After Reynolds’ brother completed his statement, courthouse deputies quickly escorted Daigneault from the courtroom. However, a conflict quickly broke out between Daigneault’s brother-in-law, mother and sister, who were watching the four-day hearing from one side of the hall, and the Reynolds side of the family, sitting on the other side.

Courthouse deputies, prosecution investigators and other officers in attendance rushed to separate the families before handcuffing Daigneault’s brother-in-law, MK Herzberg, after he hit someone on the Reynolds side of the courtroom.

Herzberg was released about 30 minutes later and allowed to leave the courthouse without being charged.

As deputies took Daigneault to jail, Daigneault told a KWTX reporter he wanted to make a statement. He reiterated that his cousin committed a crime. “And you?” When asked, Daigneault said, “I guess I’m just a murderer.”

In closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors Ryan Calvert and Alyssa Killin told the jury that although Daigneault was not a nine-time convicted felon (felony convictions date back to age 15), he deserved a life sentence for what he did to Reynolds.

“As I told the jury, if they had known nothing about Derek Daigneault other than what he did to Mandy Rose Reynolds – shooting her in the head, taking her body to McLennan County, and setting her on fire like trash – if that was all they knew about him, that alone would have given him a lifetime of imprisonment.” was enough to justify a prison sentence,” Calvert said after the hearing.

“But when we got to the sentencing phase, the jury learned that he had been in trouble his whole life, that he was a multiple-convicted felon, that he had previously been to prison in Kansas for violent crimes, and that he had even shot another person. “As a child, I am an individual,” Calvert said “He is an extremely violent individual and cannot be trusted with the safety of this or any other community. So we thought life was the only fair decision.

Daigneault’s attorney, Jason P. Darling, thanked the jury for their efforts. He said Daigneault, who must serve at least 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole, will appeal.

Calvert said he appreciated the efforts of police investigators in Robinson, San Marcos and Wichita, Kansas, for their roles in bringing Daigneault to justice.

Daigneault had a warrant out for his arrest and was on felony probation when he convinced Reynolds to drive from San Marcos to Kansas to pick him up. Reynolds allowed Daigneault to stay in a San Marcos apartment for about a month, then shot him in the head, stuffed his body in a blue storage container, walked up to Robinson and used tear gas to set the container on fire.

Investigators tracked Daigneault to Wichita, Kansas; where he led police on a high-speed chase for nearly 30 minutes, sideswiping a police vehicle and then crashing into another car. He escaped from the wreckage and ran into a crowded grocery store; Shoppers began running to their cars as police swarmed the store.

After a brief search of the store, police found him hiding behind some canned goods on the bottom shelf.

During sentencing testimony, prosecutors said Daigneault had previous convictions for aggravated burglary, attempted aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, possession of methamphetamine, attempted interference with law enforcement, criminal discharge of a firearm into a residence, fleeing officers, aggravated battery and criminal mischief. He showed me what he was wearing. possession of a weapon by a felon.

He was sentenced to just over nine years in prison for the incident in Wichita, which led to his arrest in the Reynolds murder, in which Reynolds ran from officers before wrecking his car.

Prosecutors proved that Reynolds was in possession of his Honda Accord; his grandmother’s gun, which turned out to be the murder weapon; his dog Titan; and his phone, from which investigators tracked his whereabouts.

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